Talking with Doctors about Looping

I absolutely think there is liability for them. There can’t be any liability if they dont know about it. Thats another good argument against mentioning it. Good thought!

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On the other hand, when I tell my endo I change my infusion site every 3 days, and he writes RX for that, OF COURSE I change my set every 3 days. Doctors orders… Just don’t check my pump history…

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I didn’t ask my endo for permission to loop. I started looping. At my next appointment I told my endo that I was looping and showed him Dexcom AGP printouts from before looping and after. The “before” and “after” reports were substantially the same. I took this approach because maybe he can’t ethically or legally give permission for a non-FDA approved treatment, but I was informing him of how I’m currently treating my diabetes, and was giving him data that enable him to see the good result that loop gives me. I demonstrated the loop screen on the phone and he immediately grasped the utility of seeing the four graphs of carb, IOB, insulin dosing, and CGM values, and he liked the smooth in-range line overnight. He was interested but mostly he just likes to see that I’m getting good results.

Don’t ask for permission, show good results and be prepared to explain why it is safe, and not the same as the vague recent FDA warning about unapproved treatments. (I’m using the FDA-approved Dexcom app for CGM data, so the input data to loop and the alert system that keeps me safe from BG excursions are from a system deemed safe and effective by the FDA.)

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They will take your driver’s license away for low A1C’s?
:frowning: I had no idea. Does anyone know how low before they take it?

It’s not exactly the A1C value that matters. But if a doctor notifies the authorities that an individual is liable to pass out while driving, the authorities will suspend the license. To get the license reinstated one would have to have another physician certify that you can drive safely, without being a danger to yourself or others. The details depend on the particular jurisdiction. In this particular case, there is a physician who wrongly believes that low A1C pretty much guarantees that the patient will pass out sooner or later, which is unsafe for driving.

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Thanks for posting this. You’re really well informed, which is great. I didn’t know iron deficient anemia impacted one’s A1c. Can you please tell me how one figures out what one’s A1c probably is with iron deficient anemia? Mine was 5.3%.

Join the JAEB study for loopers. Then you can tell him you’re in a study. Bet he’ll be more open then.
https://studies.jaeb.org/ndocs/loop/Public/Participant/StudyRecruitment.aspx

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According to one 2014 National Institute of Health study, people with well controlled type 1 diabetes and iron deficiency anemia experienced A1c’s about 0.5% above what their average CGM glucose would predict.